Includes original source documents, scanned images, and transcriptions from women in the Civil war era detailing their lives and times. This site would be of interest to students studying the history of Women as well as US History.

In the Classroom

Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of the Civil War. Examine the journals and diaries online as a way to prompt an activity where students will write their own "authentic" diary entry. Pick an event in the unit you are studying and have students write a journal entry as though they just participated in the event. The activity will get them thinking about what kinds of information we can find in journals and diaries and what it might have been like to experience the events in person.

This site includes original source documents, scanned images, and transcriptions from African-American women detailing their lives and times. This site would be of interest to students studying the history of women as well as US History.

In the Classroom

Use these letters to shed more light on what slave-life was like in the Antebellum south. Print out some of the letters and distribute them to students while they are in cooperative learning groups. Have each group analyze the letters and report back to the class what they were able to learn about the slave authors. Use this to steer students into a discussion to the differences between chattel slavery and that seen in the Caribbeans. This can cover topics of the economic impact of slavery and some of the restrictions that existed, such as literacy laws and the significance of finding slave letters to begin with. A very interesting collection!

This site contains a listing of women (American and otherwise) who are famous in their particular fields. It includes biographies of some of the women listed. This site could be used to aid in researching famous women of the past. Text-heavy and a little dated, the content is there nonetheless. Privately published.

In the Classroom

Use the reading list published on this site to search for new reading materials for your classroom during Women's history month, or for an addition of women's history into your every day curriculum. The reading list however would be great for book talks or papers!

Here's a site - with an attitude - about women in the military. There's plenty of information on the roles of women from the 18th century to the present, with an emphasis on the extent of women's accomplishments. Nice source for some information that's hard to find elsewhere.

In the Classroom

Although the current events may be a few years behind, the facts that this site has on women of earlier wars is really interesting quality information. Incorporate this information into a women's history month special, or simply into your every day curriculum. Especially interesting is the information offered about the Revolutionary and Civil War - students will be interested to hear about these important characters who are typically ignored in their textbooks.

This site from the New York Public Libarary lets users access texts of writings by 19th century African American women. The titles and topics vary, but the site offers an interesting exposure to primary sources that might not otherwise be available.

Students can approach this online exhibit from the Library of Congress at several levels. Elementary students can make use of the collection of captioned images (click to enlarge them). Older students can benefit from the discussion of Jefferson's experiments with farming, physics, and practical contraptions. Great exposure to a man who studied everything.

In the Classroom

Use the images on this site to create a "picture walk" in your classroom, introducing the topic of Thomas Jefferson, the Founding Father. Select 10-15 of the more powerful and diverse images, hanging them up in different locations around your classroom. Have students rotate around the classroom every 30-45 seconds, jotting down what they observe and infer about each image until the entire class has completed the circuit. After the class is back in their seats, have a class discussion based on what they observed and what this says about Jefferson. A great way to get students thinking about the content in a way that's more personal and lecture-less!

This site, based on Jefferson's Virginia estate, provides good history and an even better, highly detailed description of what Jefferson's daily life was like while at home on his plantation. Good site for background on 18th century lifestyles, as well as the specifics of one of our greatest historical figures. We've bookmarked the lesson plans; explore from there!

This site offers a collection of resources dealing with spies and espionage during the American Revolution. In addition to copies of actual letters, there are stories about famous spies and their impact on the conflict. There are also several neat "experiments" showing how to create secret codes, invisible ink, and other spy tricks. From the University of Michigan.

In the Classroom

In the "Teachers Lounge" section of this website there are resources for study questions, classroom activities, themes and projects concerning primary sources. This site is an excellent way to get students interested in a time period of which they may think they know everything already. Teachers can also tie the information they learn here into a classroom discussion of espionage and its use in our world today. Definitely check this site out if looking for some fresh ideas on the American Revolution.

Here's a collection of biographies of the people who were responsible for writing our Constitution. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were an interesting group, and this site from the National Archives lets you learn more about them.

In the Classroom

Use the biographies on this site as a starting point working on a research project, or for research material for historical heads. Historical heads allows students to illustrate important events in a character's life, inside of the blank outline of a human head. Students write up elsewhere the significance of every event pictured, but drawing tends to help students organize the material - useful tool for review!

Ben Franklin is one of America's most colorful patriots. As this site from the Franklin Institute shows, his accomplishments as legislator, diplomat, and scientist were recognized as extraordinary even in his own day.

In the Classroom

Within the "learn more" section are k12 resources that list several lesson plans and interactive exhibits and games that could easily be used as learning centers or stations. Have students work on them in the beginnings and ends of a unit, having the material serve as both introduction and review. Great resource for a teacher working on a unit about the Founding Fathers.

The title has nothing to do with the book by the same name, but this page offers lots of detail about people and places involved in the American revolution in New York state. Developed as a labor of love by a TV producer and web designer, there's a lot of primary source content and surprisingly detailed graphics. Well worth a visit.

In the Classroom

Primary sources could be used to teach both the content and historical thinking skills in your classroom. Divide students into 5-6 groups, with each group assigned a different primary source to read and evaluate. (Sources should come from various perspectives to make the game more interesting, but should have the same general topic) Have the groups present quick summaries of their source to the class, making sure to mention who the author is and whether or not there could be bias. After all have presented, have each team pick a representative to argue in front of the class as to why their source is the most reliable and valid. After all have made their argument, have the class vote off the least reliable "survivor style" until you are left with just one!

In the Classroom

Use the timelines on this site to guide students through the events of Colonial America. Open this site on the interactive whiteboard or projector as a semi-agenda for the days activities. This would be a useful site for a US history classroom.

We're not partial to "lists of lists," but this Canadian site's thematic organization of scores of web resources provides an effective interdisciplinary framework for a study of the Great War and its effects on Europe and the world. The section on participation by country helps show that it wasn't just the French, Germans, British, and Americans who were involved.

In the Classroom

Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study of aircraft in WWI. One of the more interesting tidbits is a count of the "victories" each Ace had, distinguished by how many enemy targets they destroyed.

In the Classroom

This site is divided into different phases of the war, providing images, background, timelines and video for each. The video clips are relatively short, making them appropriate to play in your classroom during a unit on World War I. Find a video applicable to your topic and use it to supplement the information found in the textbook. Be sure to search the site to determine whether any of the other resources would benefit your classroom. This is definitely one that should be saved as a favorite on the teacher's computer.

Here is a collection of first-hand accounts of selected battles and other events during World War I, from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand onward. They're a great introduction to the use of primary sources in studying historical events. Students may be particularly interested in comparing first-hand accounts of an event with the way in which those same events are presented today.

In the Classroom

Separate students into cooperative learning groups of 4-5 students, and have them look at an assigned firsthand account from the website. (Be sure to save the site as a favorite on classroom computers so students can access it quickly and without trouble.) Have students read their accounts with the end goal being that they should be able to teach their other classmates what the account says, and it's significance. These accounts do provide far more graphic information than the textbook does, so it would be interesting for students to also compare the account as to what they had learned previously. A good way to show this would be through the use of a Venn Diagram which students could present to the class after the fact. We recommend using a site such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here).

This site from Militaryhistoryonline.com offers a complete military historian's resource for understanding the three days of the Gettysburg battle. This details in this site will be overkill for all but the most enthusiastic civil war buffs, but it provides an excellent overview of the events of the battle. If a field trip to Gettysburg is in your schedule, this site would be a great starting point for either teachers or students.

In the Classroom

Use this site to supplement a lecture on the battle of Gettysburg. The site offers a lot of battle layouts and images that would be useful if pulled up on the interactive whiteboard or projector. Before the lecture pull up the images needed on the interactive whiteboard to have them ready for class. The images are mostly battle lay-outs and diagrams, but are helpful to to portray the events of that battle.

Treasured moments from the 1850s are relived in the archived collection of Godey's Lady's Book, the periodical that many scholars say changed the role of the American woman. Each book is full of poetry, sketches and articles by well-known authors of the time. From the University of Rochester.

In the Classroom

One interesting feature of these books are the articles considering etiquette. During a unit on suffrage or the Women's rights movement, pass out this article or have it projected on to the board as students are coming in to your classroom. Direct students to immediately read the article and respond in some way, whether or be verbal or written in some sort of journal. This is a great comparison to make to the expectations of the suffragettes, and the rules that most in society thought were appropriate. An interesting point would be if someone said this today - are they still right? Why or why not? What things have changed that makes this statement inapplicable now? A great way to connect past and present while getting students connected to the content!

Cornell University created this site based on a collection of magazines and other printed materials covering the period from roughly 1840 - 1890. The listings show images of the actual pages from the journals, so students can see images and text as they originally appeared. This makes the site a great way for students to understand just what people of the period were seeing and reading.

In the Classroom

Use this site as a resource to find primary sources, whether it be for in class activities or for students working on research projects & papers. If using for classroom activities, consider having the pictures serve as prompts, introductory activities, wrap-ups or even as an analytical activity. Students can analyze whats in the picture or primary source for a variety of purposes. If using as a resource for research projects, make sure to include the site on any handouts as well as post on your class wiki or web page.